I really enjoyed Alexander’s “Higher education in 2014: Glimpsing the Future” article. I found his scenarios both realistic and extreme (which is a very interesting combination). I think I felt this way because he incorporated technology that already exists but made it common place. For example most people having 3D printers. While this technology exists it is not yet economically feasible for the average person to utilize – hence both realistic and extreme.
In his Renaissance scenario, Alexander (2014) said,
“And professional development most often occurs remotely, including through social media, for reasons of cost (using the Internet is cheaper than traveling) and efficiency (people respond well to rich media in this 2024)”.
While this sentiment is simple, it would be a game changer in my industry. I cannot tell you how many conferences I would have loved to attend but couldn’t because of cost and timing. Being able to access international professional development content would expand the horizons of practitioners and create a global learning community. I recently read an article by Vescio et al. discussing the benefits of professional learning communities for both educators and students. Research has shown that student achievement increases when educators participate in PLCs (Vescio et al, 2008). I have noticed more and more resources being available online but have yet to experience a remote professional development conference. On the flip side, if professional development information is more widely accessible it calls into question whether or not you need dedicated professional development departments – which is of course a huge concern for me.
A trend I have noticed in my industry is professional development being advertised as a value add and client incentive. Our department is getting more and more requests to organize seminars for our clients. Not only are we sending people off-site, we are recording live seminars and posting them on a secure site for our clients to access. In the last few years there has been a push for more e-learning (which was one of the reasons I started the MET program). Our department, as it currently stands, does not have the resources to create online seminars at the rate our clients (both in-house and external) expect. I have openly said that our department needs to dedicate more personnel and resources towards online learning, but the legal industry is infamously slow to change. Perhaps technological advances will force our hand and require us to focus more on online content to stay competitive in the market.
References
Alexander, B. (2014). Higher education in 2014: Glimpsing the future. Educause Review, 4(5) Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/higher-education-2024-glimpsing-future?utm_source=Informz&utm_medium=Email+marketing&utm_campaign=EDUCAUSE
Vescio, V., Ross, D., & Adams, A. (2008). A review of research on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practice and student learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(1), 80-91. http://ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/login?url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2007.01.004
I don’t know if I agree with professional development being held remotely. In my school we often have to do this because of our isolation and dangerous driving conditions. We have this TV projector conference room set up. However each and every time it ends up being painful. Generally there is something wrong with the technology that takes awhile to get sorted out. In addition it is a very uncomfortable feeling to be the robot at the conference. I find that in smaller groups they expect you to participate but even staying abreast of the conversation is difficult because the technology pick up everyones voices at the same time regardless as to whether they are the presenter or just someone whispering something to their neighbour. There is also often a lag in the video. Even with better technology I think there is something to being able to go to a conference in person. To being able to talk and interact with people. To having that presence to keep you focused. I like what your company is doing in recording seminars. I’d rather something like that with discussion forums afterwards to digital conferences. Hopefully things will change taking in to consideration people’s feedback!
Thanks for the feedback.
I think there are different types of professional development. Smaller workshop type programs are of course better in person but large conference could be very successful remotely. As I mentioned, there are many events I would have loved to attend and they attract hundreds of people but they are usually in the USA and cost $2000 – $3000 once you add in airfare and hotel. I would be happy to pay a discounted rate to live stream some of keynote presentation since they are not typically interactive. Also if the alternative is not being exposed to the content I think a few technology challenges are a fare trade off.
Hey Colleen,
Great post.
I spend a great deal of my time creating and providing PD sessions for teachers in my school. While I think the concept on ‘digital PD’ is great, i believe there will always be a need for face-to-face interaction.
I agree with your point that there are a number of conferences and workshops I would have loved to attend – but have been unable to because of cost or time. However, I have aha the opportunity to be part of some online PD sessions. While they were well executed, I left the sessions wanting more. This is my same concern with eLearning. Something seems to get lost in the digital world. No matter how interactive the course, the feeling of being alone seems to go against everything we have valued in education.
Mark
Thanks Mark. I definitely agree that there is something nice about a face to face component. I think from a networking standpoint it is important to still have live seminars but more online options would be really great. Especially if the alternative is not attending at all.
Colleen